California HOA fines, the $100 cap, and hearing rules

California changed the numbers in 2025. Under Civil Code 5850, as amended by Assembly Bill 130, a monetary penalty for a violation of the governing documents cannot exceed the lesser of the amount set in the association's fine schedule or $100 per violation. The board may go above $100 only when the violation may result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another member's property, and it must make a written finding describing that impact at an open board meeting to use the exception. The association also cannot charge a late charge or interest on a monetary penalty.

The process matters as much as the cap. Under Civil Code 5855, before the board meets to consider discipline or a monetary penalty, the member is entitled to at least 10 days written notice of the meeting, and may attend and address the board, in executive session if the member requests it. The board notifies the member of its decision in writing after the meeting. Fines imposed before June 30, 2025 are not changed by the new cap.

These limits protect you after you move in, but the bigger value to a buyer is what they reveal about the board. A fine schedule that still lists $250 or $500 for an ordinary violation, or a rule that adds a late fee or interest to unpaid fines, now conflicts with Civil Code 5850, and a board that has not updated its documents is telling you how closely it tracks the law. The minutes show whether fines and hearings are handled by the book.

Read these together before you make an offer:

• The fine schedule, for amounts above $100 per violation that are not tied to a health or safety exception.
• Any rule that adds a late fee or interest to an unpaid fine, which conflicts with Civil Code 5850.
• Whether the enforcement policy requires 10 days notice and a hearing before a fine, as Civil Code 5855 requires.
• Recent board minutes for fines levied, hearings held, and disputes with owners.

An aggressive fining culture is a governance signal, and a policy that ignores the $100 cap or the notice-and-hearing rules can mean trouble for an owner who ever lands on the wrong side of it.

An HOA Notes brief reads the rules, the fine schedule, and the minutes together, flags enforcement provisions that conflict with the statutes, and cites the page behind every finding.

California Civil Code section 5850 (Monetary penalties and fine schedules). An association that adopts a policy imposing monetary penalties for violations of the governing documents must distribute the schedule of penalties. As amended by Assembly Bill 130 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 22), a monetary penalty may NOT exceed the lesser of the amount in the schedule or $100 per violation, unless the violation may result in an adverse health or safety impact on the common area or another member's property, in which case the board may impose a higher penalty only after making a written finding describing that impact at an open board meeting. A late charge or interest may NOT be charged on a monetary penalty. Penalties imposed before June 30, 2025 are not affected.

California Civil Code section 5855 (Notice and hearing before discipline). Before the board imposes a monetary penalty or other discipline for a violation, it must notify the member in writing at least 10 days before the meeting, describing the alleged violation and the action being considered; the member may attend the meeting and address the board, and the board must meet in executive session if the member requests it; the board notifies the member in writing of any disciplinary action after the meeting.

When you read the disclosure packet, watch for a fine schedule of $250 or $500 for an ordinary violation, any unpaid fine accrues interest until paid, a fine may be imposed immediately without a hearing, and unpaid fines become a lien on the home. HOA Notes flags each of these against the statute and tells you which restrictions are actually enforceable.